Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
All those missed free throws ultimately haunted Alaska in the end.
The Aces muffed 12 out of their 25 free throw attempts and by simply just doing the math, they would’ve won Game 2 of their quarterfinals duel with NLEX had they made at least just half of what they missed.
“We were 13-25 from ft, we missed a lot of free throws. That’s big. We lost by four. That hurts,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton after his team got swept by the Road Warriors following an 87-83 loss on Wednesday night.
Compton also cited the Aces’ poor percentage from the 3-point line which he attributed to the Road Warriors’ defense.
“We were 4-of-20 from the three. Credit to their defense. They really deserved it. I wish there was something I can complain about but they really deserve it.”
Despite their free throw woes and horrible outside shooting, the Aces still found themselves in great position to win the game and extend the series to a deciding Game 3 after taking an 83-80 lead with 3:01 remaining.
But that turned out to be Alaska’s last basket as they went scoreless for the remainder of the game, missing its last five attempts from the field.
Calvin Abueva led Alaska with 17 points and 16 rebounds while Ping Exciminiano added 12 points and seven rebounds.